Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal suffered a setback in the Premier League title race over the weekend, and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has highlighted the key shortcomings hindering the Gunners’ chances of catching league leaders Liverpool.
Saturday proved to be a crucial day in the title battle. Liverpool secured a late victory over Brentford with two goals from Darwin Nunez, while Arsenal missed an opportunity to respond with a win of their own. Despite going 2-0 up early in the second half against Aston Villa, the Gunners conceded twice, with goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins securing a draw for the visitors. Carragher suggested Arsenal’s defensive lapse and limited attacking options could be decisive factors in the title race.
Bukayo Saka missed the match due to a hamstring injury, and Gabriel Jesus has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. Carragher expressed doubts about the remaining attacking lineup’s quality, arguing it lacks the firepower required to compete with Liverpool.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher, alongside former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit, dismissed comparisons to Arsenal’s 1997-98 title-winning squad. Petit was part of the team that overcame Manchester United to claim the league title, but Carragher sees little chance of a repeat.
“I’ll give you three reasons [why Arsenal can’t win the league],” Carragher said. “They had [Marc] Overmars, [Nicolas] Anelka, and Dennis Bergkamp. This team is playing with [Gabriel] Martinelli, [Leandro] Trossard, and [Kai] Havertz right now—it’s not enough.”
Although Martinelli and Havertz both scored on Saturday (with the latter having another goal disallowed for handball), the trio mentioned by Carragher have only managed 18 league goals combined this season.
Reflecting on his team’s position, Arteta acknowledged Liverpool’s edge after Arsenal dropped further behind. “The subs made the impact, and they [Liverpool] managed to change the game,” Arteta admitted post-match.
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